Fall
by the blanket
Summary: [unrelated twoSHOT. H x B. mentions of blood. possible OOC] The word fall is amorphous.
1. From Grace

**Title:** Fall**  
Pairing: **Evil!Hiei x Resigned!Botan**  
Summary**: Because the only time we really fly is the moment before the fall.  
**Warning**: **Dark AU**. OOC, because this is **_not _**canon!Hiei. Blood. Character deaths. **Consider yourself warned.**

**Author's Notes-- PLEASE READ: **This two part series is my take on the word **_fall_**. As you can see, this particular interpretation is a horror!fic. The next chapter, on the other hand, is **irredeemable fluff**. There is **no connection **between the two storylines; they are two separate universes bound only by the fact that they both incorporate the concept of falling.

Now that's been settled…

_Ahem._

First attempt at dark!fic. I have no idea where this came from, but I think I'll stick to fluff. 8D

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. And the world rejoices.

* * *

She's running.

They hadn't expected this, hadn't seen that his lust for vengeance really would _always _be stronger than his loyalty. But then again, they should've anticipated it.

He'd never forgiven them after Yukina's death.

_You were supposed to protect her!_

Shizuru had been the first to go, and with one clean slice from left to right, he'd severed ties with her lover and her brother.

Now, eyes flashed more golden, than green; a smile was less a smirk, and more a sneer.

Kuwabara didn't do either, anymore.

Atsuko's blood stained her apartment three weeks later and Yuusuke hadn't been seen since. He'd probably taken Keiko, hidden her away so that she couldn't be next.

He was picking them off cleanly; destroying his former allies the same way he believed they destroyed him.

And now, it was her turn.

She didn't know why her heart hurt.

Maybe it was the speed she was running.

_It was getting harder to breathe._

Maybe it was the thought of adding another name to the Book of the Dead.

_Right under Atsuko's but before Keiko's._

Maybe, because, in another life, they could have been happy.

_No more room for regrets._

She stops, turns around, faces her demon.

"You can't kill me, you know. I don't know why you'd try."

His smile is feral, and there's a spark of insanity in those blood-red eyes.

"No. But I can hurt you. The same way they did her. I don't need you dead. I just want you destroyed. An eye for an eye, you know."

He smirks.

"That, and whatever other body parts apply. I'm not very picky."

It is the first time he's ever said her name, and she hates that she's still hoping for his redemption.

He walks toward her, grabs her arm and pulls her to his chest.

Botan lies, and tells herself that this doesn't affect her.

The moment before he kisses her and she feels the tip of his sword plunge through her back, she hears him say one last thing, and pretend her old heart doesn't ache.

_We could've been._

Her traitorous heart soars even as her life bleeds out.

FIN.

* * *

This concept came to me as I was typing up a bit more of _Just One Night_. It's my first shot at dark!fic 8D.

Also, is anyone receiving their review/author/C2/story alerts?

Because I'm not. And I'm really, really sad.


	2. Into You

**Title: **Fall  
**Pairings: **Hiei x Botan  
**Warnings**: Fluff.**  
Summary**: To fall is to submit to the demands of gravity, to give up the struggle of staying upright. Botan finds she doesn't really mind.

**Author's Notes **-- **PLEASE READ**: This two part series is my take on the word **_fall_**. As you saw, the previous chapter was a horror!fic. _This _chapter, on the other hand, is **irredeemable fluff**. There is **no connection **between the two storylines; they are two separate universes bound only by the fact that they both incorporate the concept of falling.

* * *

She is tired. 

Around her, the sky is blurring _bluepurplepink_ and at any other time, she'd appreciate the beauty. But it has been a long day, and all she wants nothing more than to sink into her soft, down comforters, and dream of bliss.

She thinks of her friends, her reasons for returning time and time again. Keiko and Yuusuke are finally at peace, though she knows that probably won't last long. Sooner rather than later, he'll say something stupid, and she'll hit him. Then, he'll apologize and she'll forgive him before the cycle starts all over again.

Botan isn't worried, though. If there's one thing Yuusuke's good at—besides saving the world—it's kissing and making up.

She idly wonders if that's the reason they fight all the time, before mentally filing that question away for another day.

Shizuru and Kurama haven't been seen for a few days.

But they've definitely been _heard_, if the complaints coming from the spirit fox's apartment neighbors are anything to go by.

She smirks wickedly at the thought.

_It's about time he loosened up._

Kuwabara and Yukina have never been better, now that the truth's out and the family's been reunited. She's as innocent as ever and he's still eager to show her everything about the human world.

Which brings her to the last member of their little circle…

_Hiei_.

She can't pinpoint the exact moment things between them changed. Maybe it was after Yakumo kidnapped them, or before Sensui almost ended this world. Perhaps it was after his fight with Bui, when he'd smirked at her—an almost imperceptible upward quirk of the corners of his mouth—before falling in a dead faint. Whenever it was, she'd fallen _hard_,and he'd fallen _fast_.

She slips past Jorge in the halls of the palace and says hello to Ayame on the way back to her room. The older girl is dressed up tonight, and Botan can't help but wonder if it's for Koenma. He'd been acting a little funny all day…

Shrugging off the thought, she unlocks the door to her room, and isn't surprised by the lump under her sheets.

He's here again.

Her sandals drop silently with her obi and her kimono, and she stretches her arms before changing into a long T-shirt, and a ratty pair of shorts.

As she falls into place beside Hiei, and his arms clasp around her waist, Botan finds that she doesn't mind falling.

As long as he's there to catch her.

**FIN.**

* * *

Sigh. That makes me feel better about the last chapter. 

Please review. ;)


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